


We Will Live

by Bunney



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-24
Updated: 2012-08-24
Packaged: 2017-11-12 18:25:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/494290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bunney/pseuds/Bunney
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco watches his grieving mother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Will Live

Sitting on the wide, silk-draped bed on which he was conceived, Draco watched Narcissa put the finishing touches on her hair. She was gazing intently into the mirror, her lovely, pale face perfectly composed and devoid of anything but the most neutral of expressions. She lifted her left hand, the large, tear-drop diamond on her finger catching the light, and carefully patted several wayward strands of blonde hair back into place.

Her every move was minimalist; Narcissa Malfoy was not a woman given to unnecessary gestures. To some, she appeared indolent, even lazy, but those who knew her also appreciated her efficiency of motion. She could sit still, a book in her hands, for hours on end, only her lips moving as she would read passage after passage of the historical volumes she favored.

With a tiny flick, their eyes met in the mirror, Narcissa’s cornflower blue to Draco’s smoky silver. The ice in those eyes melted a bit, until he could see the grief lingering beneath. He broke their gaze first, as a lump built heavily in his throat.

“When did Severus say that he would be arriving?” she asked, her voice hushed and husky with unshed tears. Tears that Draco knew he’d never see. He glanced at her appointment book, laying on the bedside table. Narcissa was never without it; she knew as well as he what time the professor would be arriving to escort them to London.

He cleared his throat. “Half-past eleven. The Wizengamot convenes at noon.”

Narcissa nodded, once more staring at her reflection. From his vantage point, Draco could see the silver strands gleaming amongst the gold of her hair, the fine lines striating from the corners of her eyes. She’d aged in these past months, months in which she’d been parted from the husband she loved and found the weight of the wizarding world’s censure on her narrow shoulders. Draco knew that she’d protected him from the worst of it; he only had to contend with his classmates. Slytherin House, nearly to the last student, had turned away from him and the stigma his name now carried. The rest of the school was just as unforgiving, as frigidly unwelcoming, as it had ever been.

All but for one lone witch, who’d come to him in the library one evening after the news of Lucius’s impending execution had spread throughout the school and extended her hand in friendship. Once, he might’ve spurned her, insulted her, even hurt her. But, the slender strength of her hands around his, the unfamiliar compassion in her dark eyes, had undone him and he found himself even now clinging to the precious picture of her in his mind, as he had clung to her then. The anticipation of seeing her again, on this dark day, was all that was keeping him from falling utterly to pieces.

Narcissa rose from her vanity, touching her fingers to the hollow of her throat and the heirloom emeralds that had been a gift from Lucius on the occasion of their most recent anniversary. “I’m ready,” she whispered and Draco rose with her, holding out his arm for her. She smiled with rare affection on her son, her dearest little boy who was far too young to shoulder the burden that would now be placed on him.

“I’m so proud of you, Draco, that you can put aside his teachings and embrace the memories he’s left us.” Her eyes sparkled with tears, which she blinked resolutely away.

Draco wasn’t so brave. His lips trembled with the force it took to hold his emotion at bay. “I miss him already.”

“I know. But, there is nothing to be done for it now and he would want us to make a fresh start.”

Draco led her to the bedroom door and through it. “I only tried to make him proud of me, but I couldn’t...I’m not...”

“You aren’t a murderer, Draco, and I’m glad of it. You had the strength and the courage to turn away from the path on which your feet were set and I’m selfishly glad of it.” Narcissa paused at the head of the stairs, pulling Draco around to look in his tear-stained face. “Dry your tears, boy. We will walk into that courtroom with the pride of the Malfoys and the Blacks and we will support your father in his last minutes. Then...”

Draco blinked, taking a deep breath. “Then?”

“We will live.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “We will live.”

~fin~


End file.
